Unravelling Net Zero practices, strategies and barriers among businesses in a UK region

This paper investigates how far business organisations are moving towards Net Zero goals . Using a qualitative methodology consisting of 18 semi-structured interviews with senior managers of businesses in a region in the UK, this research looked at the shared experiences in terms of the practices, strategies and barriers that they face. Technological transformation and management practices improvement were identified as commonly used strategies among businesses. Whereas limited supporting infrastructure, guidance from government and funding posed significant barriers to transitioning towards Net Zero. This paper classified the participating businesses according to Berger-Schmitz et al. (2022)’s framework, where most organisations followed an “opportunity -seeking” response, with the exception of the agricultural sector, which followed a “conformance” response, interestingly no “avoidance” response organisations were found. Recommendations for businesses as well as future research avenues are provided.